Add to Technorati Favorites expat Abu Dhabi Dispatches: November 2011

Sunday, November 27, 2011

Shearing the Sheep

For the last 3+ years I have lived in a relatively insulated area of the world and I have had the unique opportunity to see Western culture and specifically the USA from the outside. Most in America have never heard of Abu Dhabi and assume it is some place in Africa due to the exotic sounding name, they know of Dubai, though. The 2 cities are but 50 miles apart. The UAE is a benevolent monarchy which in the most part takes care of its residents and citizens. Things are not perfect here but this area seemed to largely escape the degree of economic carnage that befell the rest of the world.
 
As you know I have recently decided to return to my homeland and I fear I will not be so happy about some things happening there. I consider the bank bailouts on the taxpayers' dime a travesty which will haunt middle class Americans for generations to come. Uncounted trillions of dollars literally evaporated overnight and it will take decades to recover.

It has affected me personally as I own real estate and have investments that have losses in the tens of thousands of dollars in value. The economic crisis was a huge "pump and dump" by the international bankers. I am pissed off as I did not get a government bailout because I am not "too big to fail" so I have to just take it in the shorts, I guess.

The international banks (Goldman Sachs, et al) made out like bandits with the cooperation of the US government and the Federal Reserve which is just another private bank. They all caused the problem which is reverberating worldwide, yet the whole situation remains opaque and the same players remain in power within the US government and Wall Street. They should be in prison as it seems the whole scheme was orchestrated years ago with the lobbying away of financial rules and safeguards that allowed certain toxic financial instruments to be created for the sole purpose of wealth transfer.

When this house of cards collapsed, the players were inexplicably rewarded with an unprecedented bounty of public funds from the federal government instead of well deserved sanctions. Common sense would dictate letting these private banking organizations rot on the vine from their irresponsible actions, instead they were given a "mulligan" at taxpayers' expense. This suggests a much too cozy of a relationship between the robber-barons of Wall Street and the US government that has the responsibility of regulating them.

Greece, Italy, Spain, Portugal, and even France are facing financial meltdowns and the bankers are at the ready to step in and "help" these beleaguered economies by buying assets for pennies on the dollar. It seems to be all about the money. Trace the new leaders of Greece and Italy and you will find they have backgrounds with the same international banking organizations. As always, follow the money

I am not a tin foil hat wearing guy but I can put 2+2 together. You do not have to agree with me but the puzzle pieces are self-evident. Everyone should be a critical thinker and question authority.

Below are some thought provoking videos I found. The first 2 are from the prophetic movie Network (1976) and one from critical thinker, social analyst and part-time comedian, George Carlin.













Now maybe the lord/serf relationship was the natural order of things at one time, world history has many examples of this, but I am uncomfortable with the status quo and would think humanity would have matured and grown away from this unequal and unfair arrangement. I am an individual with unalienable rights and freedoms but recent events undermine my confidence and respect for my elected officials who I trusted to protect my best interests.

To me it seems my (and others') governing bodies dropped the ball and have allowed outside influences to steer public policy. The "get out of jail free" card was given to the international economic manipulators and many of these scoundrels hold high positions in the US government to this day. The Golden Rule is in effect, those that have the gold, rules.



What to do? There is no easy answer. The types of people that have a burning desire for elective government offices also have traits that tend toward weakness and selling-out their constituencies at the whiff of a greenback. Us regular folks are expected to look the other way and take the inevitable hit to the pocketbook or personal rights and freedoms.

We have an uphill battle to equalize things against the elite power brokers but there are some bright spots. The internet is the big player here as it offers the exchange of information at the grass roots level and bypasses the mainstream media who is also influenced by money and power and do not want to upset the handlers. The internet offers an alternative to the communal Kool-Aide.

Another victory was the exposure of "climate change" for the scam that it was. Most of the proponents were not actual scientists (Al Gore for one) but were knee-deep in the politics and finance of trying to scare the bejesus out of us regular people. As always, the endgame was more money and power for the elite. That was called Cap and Trade and Carbon Credits. Mr. Gore is actually a principle of the Chicago Climate Exchange
which is a clearinghouse and speculator of carbon credits when he is not trying to rape hotel maids.  I have a funny feeling his involvement in the CCE is not entirely altruistic and he stood a lot to gain by promoting his junk science.Thankfully, the Chicken Little "sky is falling" climate change horse is in its last twitches.

Bottom line is that we have the ultimate advantage in numbers but we all should think critically, put the pieces of the puzzle together, connect the dots, hold our elected officials accountable, ask questions when things don't pass the "sniff test" and as always......follow the damn money!













Tuesday, November 22, 2011

I Am Outta Here

I finally did it. I pulled the trigger and resigned my post last week. I will be leaving Abu Dhabi at the end of the year. I did not take the decision lightly. I have had a good run here and many adventures and good stories resulted. At this point I do not know where I will end up so it seems I am taking yet another jump into the abyss.As they say, "a rolling stone gathers no moss".

I had to leave here sometime anyway, I am just a guest here so I thought now is a good time as any. I am not getting any younger and it seems US employers have a problem with considering citizens living overseas for job opportunities. I realize I have to be back on home soil to further my career. 

I will continue this blog no matter what because I like doing it. The name may change depending on where I end up. I have some things to reveal that I can't as long as I live here so stay tuned.

As always I appreciate my followers, I do it all for you. I consider it a privilege and honor that you spend some time out your day to read my scribblings. I promise to continue to be creative and entertaining for you. More stories to come!